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Veteran uses surf to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2019-10-15 10:33

About the solution

"I felt like I had no control over myself, and I was afraid of myself," Andrew said.

Because of that, he went sought professional help. However, it was only when he went surfing that he began to heal and feel more alive.

"I had my ass handed to me that day, but it was the first time I felt alive again. I could go out there and just turn off the world”, the founder recalled.

After that, the veteran moved to Folly Beach and started giving surf lessons. That led him to meet other veterans and have the idea for his nonprofit organisation: Warrior Surf.
Warrior Surf provides free surf camps for veterans and their families, with therapy sessions on the beach.

“The program’s wellness philosophy follows a positive psychology model. In accordance with that model, the following goals are identified to:

- Enhance emotional engagement through participation in enjoyable, rewarding, and challenging activities such as surfing, paddle boarding, and yoga;
- Provide opportunities for accomplishment and mastery of new skills through adaptive sports and alternative ways of thinking;
- Facilitate an increased sense of belonging and connection with others through group surf clinics and peer mentoring;
- Improve emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills through the practice of mindfulness inherent in surfing and yoga”, says on the official website.

Over 400 veterans have benefitted from this program.

Adapted from: https://cnn.it/33BuoWv

More info: https://www.warriorsurf.org/

This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Andrew Manzi, born in the USA, in 1985, was a marine who served two tours in Iraq. He came back home with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Then he found surf to be therapeutic so he founded Warrior Surf, in 2015, a nonprofit to help other veterans coping with PTSD with surf.

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